


Dark Step

by Zerrat



Category: Dissidia: Final Fantasy
Genre: Battle, Community: ff_land, Darkness, Gen, Opposing Ideologies, Violence, darkness and light
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-29
Updated: 2011-12-29
Packaged: 2017-10-28 10:28:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/306923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zerrat/pseuds/Zerrat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The darkness is a seductive thrill for Cecil in this world, and threatens to disturb the balance he'd achieved in his life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dark Step

Cecil had never before teetered so precariously between two extremes. For a man who had been convinced that his fate rested entirely within the cleansing light, the situation he’d found himself in, upon waking up in this war, was certainly an educational one.

At one end of the spectrum, Cecil was the gallant hero, that knight in shining armour that had saved the world from Zeromus. He was the shield, the protector, the devoted king. He was the Paladin, and the trial atop Mount Ordeals had reawakened his lost honour and had brought it back to his life.

In the same breath, this new world had presented him with the confusing – and quite alarming – ability to return to his oldest roots of combat. The arts gifted unto a Dark Knight were those Cecil was intimately familiar with; if the Paladin within him was the hand that protected, then surely the Dark Knight was the hand that slaughtered.

It was raw power, the burst of speed at that critical moment, it was agonizing pain in return for the fire of victory. It was blood, humiliation, desperation and abandon. It was an art where the consequences of his actions could be forgotten in the fury of the present. When he fought as the Dark Knight, everything seemed to boil down to each heartbeat, and the fight became a matter of _do or die_ , because for a Dark Knight there would be no second chances at victory.

The thrill he felt was alarming and intoxicating. The safety of a paladin felt as if it could no longer compare to the excitement offered by darkness –

Cecil had pulled himself up short, then, surprised at how easily he’d slipped from careful balance and into the same old traps as yesteryear. Blood from one of Chaos’ slain chosen caked the joints of his gauntlets, and when he looked up, it seemed as though his comrades had left him in the muddied field, alone.

So easy to fall into darkness again… had Cecil learned nothing from his trial? He clenched his teeth, silently reminding himself of why he’d chosen the path he had, why he’d abandoned the darkness.

The dark arts beckoned to him again, whispering of power and victory and adrenaline. Cecil pushed away the seductive urge to remain in dark armour, resolutely assuming his true form. Cecil knew that within this war, balancing the two martial styles would push him to the limit. Shouldering his weapon, Cecil began to seek Firion and his other allies, praying that he had not alienated them with his frightful bloodlust.


End file.
